Former US rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight has pleaded no contest to a voluntary manslaughter charge over a hit-and-run incident in 2015.

The Death Row Records founder made the plea to avoid charges of murdering one man and attempting to murder a second with his pick-up truck in Los Angeles. Knight will be formally sentenced to 28 years in prison in October.

His record label helped launch the careers of artists including Dr Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

The 2015 incident happened after an argument over the making of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about rap group NWA. Under Californian state law, a no contest plea is the legal equivalent of a guilty plea.